God's Banker: The Roberto Calvi Mystery

Overture Searches On Site: 745 according to the November 2003 report from www.overture.com The 20th century is replete with impenetrable mysteries that have kept us guessing. Just think about the JFK assassination, the possibility of alien activity at Area 51, and the perplexing Philadelphia Experiment.

The Roberto Calvi story is just as intriguing. As you will see, this puzzle involves the Vatican, Freemasonry, and the Mafia; it almost sounds like a Dan Brown novel. Let's try to make sense of the truth.

Born April 13, 1920, Roberto Calvi eventually became an ambitious Italian financial artist. He worked his way up the corporate ladder and became director-general and president of the Banco Ambrosiano. Under his leadership, he transformed the Milan institution from an insignificant regional bank into a major global player.

During his tenure, the Banco Ambrosiano, eventually the largest private Italian financial institution, became economically linked with the Vatican. As a result, Calvi was nicknamed God's Banker. But in 1981, while his bank was undergoing difficult financial times, he was convicted of currency trading violations.

In June 1982, Banco Ambrosiano went bankrupt after accumulating debts ranging between $700 million and $1.5 billion. It's believed that most of the money was funneled away through the Vatican Bank, known as the IOR (Institute for Religious Works).

baffling death

Calvi then altered his appearance, acquired false documents, and traveled through a number of European cities to cover his escape from Italy. He was eventually able to reach London, where he wanted to lay low with his friend Flavio Carboni, the Sardinian business tycoon.

On June 18, 1982, Roberto Calvi's body was found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge. Even though he had 14 pounds of bricks and stones in his pockets and had his hands tied behind his back, the medical examiner proclaimed the death a suicide.

Not buying the suicide theory, Calvi's family had the body exhumed in 1998, and his murder was confirmed. In 2002, the Italian authorities also concluded that Roberto Calvi was assassinated. But by whom?

the sicilian connection

In December 2002, Mafia kingpin Antonio Giuffre became a police informant and mentioned that Calvi had been murdered, due to the fact that he wasn't doing a good job of laundering money for the mob as CEO of the largest bank in Italy.

The fact that the way Calvi was murdered is believed to be typical of the Sicilian Mafia confirms the police's suspicions. Although they have yet to be tried, prosecutors have linked four men to the crime.